Thinking of switching to Dish from TWC.

[Buell_Mule]

I'm thinking of switching from TWC to Dishnetwork.

I've had them in the past. And worked well. But when TWC came out with HD locals, I switched.

So now, I'd like a VIP622 HD DVR, and two 625 SD DVRs, and of course a OTA Antenna.

Any suggestions on an Installer. I live off of HWY18 near downtown Waukesha.
And what is this instalation likely to cost me?

[Absopo]

I actually would like to switch as well, TWC is just insane with pricing

[AndrewP]

Call Dish directly. Installation is free. If you want extra $49 credit om your first bill, then send me a private msg. I will send you back a special code you tell Dish and you'll have all current Dish promotions and extra credit.
Now, keep in mind that Dish receivers have two outputs. So you can watch two different channels on two TVs at the same time. With 622 output 1 is HD, output 2 is SD. 625 has two SD outputs. So with two receivers you can watch 4 different channels on 4 TVs. You can save money on extra receivers fees by using this setup ($5 for SD, $6 for HD receiver, first receiver fee is $0).
Technically what you can do is:
1. Dish installer will put new lines from Dish to TVs.
2. Use existing TWC cabling for OTA and SD backfeed distribution. You will need a qualified installer to do that (diplexers involved). But you can do yourself by using Dish installation diagrams.
3. Buy OTA antenna at Marmax (1 block east of Rawson & 76), it is called ChannelMaster 4228 ($40) or 4221. I think with 4228 you can get both Milwaukee and Madison at your location. Also check antennaweb.org for antenna recommendations at your location.

[Mark Strube]

I had a good experience with Galaxy 1. I think they do all the DISH installations in the area, but I'm not totally sure. Just in case, here's their number: 866-335-3474

One thing I will give TWC - their local customer service is better than DISH's. If something goes wrong, be ready to spend a little extra time getting a respresentative on the phone to help you solve the problem or to get someone sent out. Not a lot of time, but a bit more than when dealing with TWC. Also, the local customer service is not 24 hours... the national DISH customer service is 24 hours, which is good for billing issues, adding/removing programming, or general technical issues.

To me, it's a small sacrifice to make for all the extra programming.

OH, and if you're planning on using the ViP211 to view OTA programming, 4-1 will not work well on it... it'll intermittently freeze up due to the strange type of signal WTMJ is using. The ViP611 is fine with this.